Newport Gulls win second straight NECBL title with comeback victory over Maine

The Newport Gulls were down to their final three outs of the season in the title series against the Sanford (Maine) Mariners over the weekend.

After dropping Game 1 on Thursday, Newport had won the rain-postponed Game 2 of the series earlier on Saturday — a 7-3 victory to force the winner-take-all Game 3. Now, the Gulls were down 7-6 with one out in the ninth when Tyler Hare stepped to the plate. Hare delivered hit his second home run of the day (his solo blast in the second inning gave Newport an early lead) to knot the game at Cardines Field and extend it to extra innings. After Drew DeLucia retired the Mariners in order in the 10th, the Gulls had the chance they were looking for.

Niko Brini was hit by a pitch and Andrew Duncan drew a walk to put two runners on with nobody out. That brought Dixon Williams to the plate with a chance to end it. With the count 0-1, Williams sent a hard hit ball up the middle that got through the infield and gave Brini the chance to come home from second. With his speed, Brini got the green light and the throw from center field was well high as Brini crossed home safely and the Gulls walked it off in the 10th to clinch their second consecutive NECBL Championship, keeping the Fay Vincent Sr. Cup in Newport.

The championship was the first series to go to a Game 3 this postseason (and the first title series to go to a Game 3 since 2015). The Gulls have now won eight NECBL titles, the most of any franchise in the league’s history.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Newport Gulls win second straight NECBL title with comeback victory over Maine